Making way for feng shui in building design

Posted: 10:00 am Wed, December 25, 2013 By FrankJossi Finance and Commerce Tags: 7west, Advisors of America Inc., Andrew Hong, Bluestem Bar, Carole Hyder, Coffee News Caf, Curt Gunsbury, Erik Wyckoff, feng shui, Feng Shui Institute of the Midwest, French Meadow Bakery & Caf, Lynn Gordon, Seven Corners, Sunset Funeral Home and Cemetery 10:00 am Wed, December 25, 2013

Feng shui puts the fire element on the south side of a building. In the new 7west apartments in Minneapolis, a gas fireplace was placed in the lobby so that it faces both the lobby and the street. (File photo: Bill Klotz)

From Curt Gunsburys new 7west apartments in Minneapolis to Lynn Gordons soon to open French Meadow Bakery & Caf in St. Paul, feng shui principles are inching into building design and businesses in the area.

In feng shui (pronounced fung shway), every building is believed to possess an inherent energy, known as qi (pronounced chee). The idea is to marshal and promote that energy while keeping out bad forces, according to feng shui consultant Andrew Hong. The Chinese process includes everything from the site of a building and its orientation to the colors and fixtures selected to inhabit it.

A building is composed of energy, and that energy can be good, or it can be bad, Hong said. We want to channel the good energy to our benefit.

Hong, 71, has been busy as one of the regions leading practitioners of feng shui. His largest project was the 213-unit 7west apartment building at 1800 Washington Ave. S. in Minneapolis. One of his most recent is the French Meadow Bakery opening in January in the former Coffee News Caf at 1662 Grand Ave. in St. Paul.

According to Hongs feng shui vision of a city, skyscrapers are mountains and freeways are rivers. In the 7west project, he saw a tsunami of energy emanating from the Seven Corners neighborhood and began thinking about how to control it.

The biggest change he recommended for the $41 million project was to move the front door to face Washington Avenue rather than an adjacent Marriott Courtyard. I immediately saw the entrance was in the wrong position, Hong said.

The biggest change feng shui expert Andrew Hong made in the $41 million 7west apartments was to suggest the front door be moved to a location on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis instead of facing a nearby hotel. (File photo: Bill Klotz)

He recalls that the design team balked at the idea, citing the expense of moving the doors. The entrance ended up being moved because of pressure from the city of Minneapolis rather than adherence to good feng shui principles, he said with a laugh.

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Making way for feng shui in building design